“Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head [Jesus Christ], from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” [1]
Paul warned the Colossians against counterfeit beliefs that would scam them out of eternal rewards.
Only faith in Jesus Christ nourishes and grows us towards eternal rewards. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Christian faith.
Are we steadfastly connected to a body of believers who recognize Christ as the Head of the Church?
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.” [2]
Why is it important to confess that Christ came in the flesh? Any group of believers who does not acknowledge and confess the necessity of the Son of God to become a human sacrifice for our sins is deceiving its followers. They are placing something else, anti and instead of Christ as the most important teaching of the Church.
“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” [3]
“Dear Lord Jesus Christ, Head of the Christian faith, please keep us Your people from being scammed out of the most important doctrine of the Bible, namely that YOU ALONE are the MESSIAH. In YOU ALONE is eternal salvation. Please help us to always acknowledge and confess YOU as our HEAD… the Only One to guide, nourish and grow us as a body. For it is in YOUR NAME JESUS, that I pray. Amen.”
[1] Colossians 2:18-19
[2] 2 John 1:7-8
[3] 2 John 1:9
Friday, October 25, 2019
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Celebration Despite Contention
“Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.” [1]
“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles [non-Jews] the unsearchable riches of Christ.” [2]
The Prophet Jeremiah lamented that he was in a place where his love for God and for God’s Word yielded for him strife, contention, curses and rebuke, but nevertheless, he could say to God, “Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” He was glad to be called by God’s Name.
The Apostle Paul marveled that he who was so small in his own eyes, was given grace by God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ among non-Jews.
The grace of God that calls a man or woman to love Him and His Word is a marvelous gift. There are riches beyond compare in Christ our Savior. Our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, abundantly fills our cup until overflowing with revelations of Himself that make up the difference when we encounter contention.
[1] Jeremiah 17:10, 15-16
[2] Ephesians 3:8
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.” [1]
“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles [non-Jews] the unsearchable riches of Christ.” [2]
The Prophet Jeremiah lamented that he was in a place where his love for God and for God’s Word yielded for him strife, contention, curses and rebuke, but nevertheless, he could say to God, “Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” He was glad to be called by God’s Name.
The Apostle Paul marveled that he who was so small in his own eyes, was given grace by God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ among non-Jews.
The grace of God that calls a man or woman to love Him and His Word is a marvelous gift. There are riches beyond compare in Christ our Savior. Our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, abundantly fills our cup until overflowing with revelations of Himself that make up the difference when we encounter contention.
[1] Jeremiah 17:10, 15-16
[2] Ephesians 3:8
Friday, October 11, 2019
Saying No to the flesh and Yes to the Holy Spirit
“‘When I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. They were like well-fed lusty stallions; everyone one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’” [1]“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
“Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” [2]
The solution to breaking bondages of the flesh is to live by dependence on a higher power, namely the power of the Holy Spirit. Live for a higher purpose than gratifying the sinful nature! Live to love God and your neighbor by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” [3]
Good fruit, godly fruit, coming forth from your life is a blessing to God your Father, to your neighbor and to yourself as well.
[1] Jeremiah 5:7-9
[2] Galatians 5:16, 24-25
[3] Galatians 5:22-23
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Lamentations
“They have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us.’ My people have forgotten Me days without number.” [1]
Lament! God the Creator and Sustainer of the universe laments. He grieves. People that He poured out so much love for... people that He cared for deeply... they turned their back on Him. They forgot Him. They only remember Him when they need help.
Is loving people a worthy cause when they are so prone to grieve the heart of a loving God?
The people of whom God speaks of in Jeremiah’s prophecy did pay a price for going their own way..
“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you, says the Lord God of hosts.” [2]
The bad oats they sowed produced a harvest of trouble for them.
Not only this, but they embittered by their misbehavior the most loving being in the universe, namely, God their Creator and Heavenly Father. “The fear of Me is not in you...” They gave God disrespect instead of glory, praise and grateful service.
How often have we done to God what Jeremiah’s people did to Him?
May the Lord grant us grace to repent so that when He corrects us, we do not harden our hearts, but instead, ask Him to forgive us and to teach us how to love Him as He loves us.
[1] Jeremiah 2:27, 31
[2] Jeremiah 2:19
Lament! God the Creator and Sustainer of the universe laments. He grieves. People that He poured out so much love for... people that He cared for deeply... they turned their back on Him. They forgot Him. They only remember Him when they need help.
Is loving people a worthy cause when they are so prone to grieve the heart of a loving God?
The people of whom God speaks of in Jeremiah’s prophecy did pay a price for going their own way..
“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you, says the Lord God of hosts.” [2]
The bad oats they sowed produced a harvest of trouble for them.
Not only this, but they embittered by their misbehavior the most loving being in the universe, namely, God their Creator and Heavenly Father. “The fear of Me is not in you...” They gave God disrespect instead of glory, praise and grateful service.
How often have we done to God what Jeremiah’s people did to Him?
May the Lord grant us grace to repent so that when He corrects us, we do not harden our hearts, but instead, ask Him to forgive us and to teach us how to love Him as He loves us.
[1] Jeremiah 2:27, 31
[2] Jeremiah 2:19
Monday, October 7, 2019
The Gospel Conveys Good Gifts
“Foolish!” “Bewitched!” The Galatians forgot that Christ was portrayed among them as CRUCIFIED. We need portrayals of Christ crucified to remind us that the cross, not human achievement, is the basis of God's blessing. [1]
“You cannot say that you received the Holy Spirit by the Law. But as soon as the Gospel came your way, you received the Holy Spirit by the simple hearing of faith, before you ever had a chance to do a single good deed. It is the nature of the Gospel to convey good gifts.” [2] Luke verifies this statement in the Book of Acts: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the Word.” “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” [3]
Paul considered it foolish to seek Christian perfection by dependence on works of the flesh instead of by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. [4]
Abraham “BELIEVED God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” [5]
Only those who are of FAITH are sons of Abraham. [6]
“In you [Abraham] all the nations shall be BLESSED” means in Abraham’s faith. [7] Faith in God is always what saves people. Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. [8]
To try to be righteous before God by our works is to be under the curse of the law. Self-righteousness is a curse because we must continue in all things which are written in the book of the Law (which is impossible) and in the end still be condemned by the Law. [9]
Christ REDEEMED us from the curse of the law by becoming accursed for us. [10] Why would anyone want to be self-righteous and be accursed? Christ took our sinful curse upon Himself and offers His righteous merits to us as we trust in Him.
God’s promise of blessing was to Abraham and to his Seed. This Seed refers to CHRIST. It is in Christ that we are blessed and not in becoming a Jew. [11]
Our divine inheritance comes to us by believing God’s PROMISE. [12]
The purpose of the Law is to help us be aware of our TRANSGRESSIONS. [13]
SCRIPTURE has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. [14]
The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be JUSTIFIED by faith.
We are all sons of God through faith in CHRIST. [15]
In Jewish literature, “sons-of-God” was a title of highest honor, used only for "the members of righteous Israel, destined to inherit the eschatological blessings" (Byrne 1979:174). But now Gentiles—the rejected, the outsiders, the sinners, those who do not observe the law—are called sons of God. How could a Gentile ever be called a child of God? Paul's answer is clear—through faith in Christ Jesus. Since Christ Jesus is the “Son of God,” all who by faith are in Christ are also sons of God.” [16]
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” means that all people in Christ are considered equally as God’s children. [17] There is no sibling rivalry. No racism. No higher and lower caste of people.
When we are Christ’s, we are Abraham’s seed, and HEIRS according to the promise. [18]
[1] Galatians 3:1 & IVP Commentary
[2] Martin Luther’s Commentary
[3] Acts 10:44; 11:15
[4] Galatians 3:3
[5] Galatians 3:6
[6] Galatians 3:7
[7] Galatians 3:8
[8] Galatians 3:9
[9] Galatians 3:10
[10] Galatians 3:13
[11] Galatians 3:16
[12] Galatians 3:18
[13] Galatians 3:19
[14] Galatians 3:22
[15] Galatians 3:26
[16] Blue Letter Commentary
[17] Galatians 3:28
[18] Galatians 3:29
“You cannot say that you received the Holy Spirit by the Law. But as soon as the Gospel came your way, you received the Holy Spirit by the simple hearing of faith, before you ever had a chance to do a single good deed. It is the nature of the Gospel to convey good gifts.” [2] Luke verifies this statement in the Book of Acts: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the Word.” “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” [3]
Paul considered it foolish to seek Christian perfection by dependence on works of the flesh instead of by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. [4]
Abraham “BELIEVED God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” [5]
Only those who are of FAITH are sons of Abraham. [6]
“In you [Abraham] all the nations shall be BLESSED” means in Abraham’s faith. [7] Faith in God is always what saves people. Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. [8]
To try to be righteous before God by our works is to be under the curse of the law. Self-righteousness is a curse because we must continue in all things which are written in the book of the Law (which is impossible) and in the end still be condemned by the Law. [9]
Christ REDEEMED us from the curse of the law by becoming accursed for us. [10] Why would anyone want to be self-righteous and be accursed? Christ took our sinful curse upon Himself and offers His righteous merits to us as we trust in Him.
God’s promise of blessing was to Abraham and to his Seed. This Seed refers to CHRIST. It is in Christ that we are blessed and not in becoming a Jew. [11]
Our divine inheritance comes to us by believing God’s PROMISE. [12]
The purpose of the Law is to help us be aware of our TRANSGRESSIONS. [13]
SCRIPTURE has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. [14]
The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be JUSTIFIED by faith.
We are all sons of God through faith in CHRIST. [15]
In Jewish literature, “sons-of-God” was a title of highest honor, used only for "the members of righteous Israel, destined to inherit the eschatological blessings" (Byrne 1979:174). But now Gentiles—the rejected, the outsiders, the sinners, those who do not observe the law—are called sons of God. How could a Gentile ever be called a child of God? Paul's answer is clear—through faith in Christ Jesus. Since Christ Jesus is the “Son of God,” all who by faith are in Christ are also sons of God.” [16]
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” means that all people in Christ are considered equally as God’s children. [17] There is no sibling rivalry. No racism. No higher and lower caste of people.
When we are Christ’s, we are Abraham’s seed, and HEIRS according to the promise. [18]
[1] Galatians 3:1 & IVP Commentary
[2] Martin Luther’s Commentary
[3] Acts 10:44; 11:15
[4] Galatians 3:3
[5] Galatians 3:6
[6] Galatians 3:7
[7] Galatians 3:8
[8] Galatians 3:9
[9] Galatians 3:10
[10] Galatians 3:13
[11] Galatians 3:16
[12] Galatians 3:18
[13] Galatians 3:19
[14] Galatians 3:22
[15] Galatians 3:26
[16] Blue Letter Commentary
[17] Galatians 3:28
[18] Galatians 3:29
Thursday, October 3, 2019
My Soul Delights in His Abundance
The Lord says to us if we are thirsty to come to Him. He will quench our thirst free of charge…
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” [1]
He delights my soul in His abundance. [2]
He gives me the sure mercies of David when I am with Him. [3]
He gives me mercy and abundant pardon, as I seek Him, call upon Him, forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and return to Him. [4]
The Lord’s thoughts are not my thoughts, and my ways are not His ways, because as the heavens are higher than the earth, God’s ways and thoughts are higher than mine. [5]
The Lord’s Word is like rain and snow that water the earth, and make the earth bring forth and bud, and to provide seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. God’s Word is like that. It does not return empty-handed. It brings forth results. God’s Word accomplishes what He pleases. It prospers in the thing for which He sent it. [6]
Thank You God for Your Word!
In the Lord I have joy and peace, singing and clapping.
“For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” [7]
He removes that which tears and hurts, and gives that which delights…
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree...” [8]
“Thank You Heavenly Father that daily You minister to and bless whoever will come to You.”
[1] Isaiah 55:1
[2] Isaiah 55:2
[3] Isaiah 55:3
[4] Isaiah 55:6-7
[5] Isaiah 55:8-9
[6] Isaiah 55:10-11
[7] Isaiah 55:12
[8] Isaiah 55:13
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” [1]
He delights my soul in His abundance. [2]
He gives me the sure mercies of David when I am with Him. [3]
He gives me mercy and abundant pardon, as I seek Him, call upon Him, forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and return to Him. [4]
The Lord’s thoughts are not my thoughts, and my ways are not His ways, because as the heavens are higher than the earth, God’s ways and thoughts are higher than mine. [5]
The Lord’s Word is like rain and snow that water the earth, and make the earth bring forth and bud, and to provide seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. God’s Word is like that. It does not return empty-handed. It brings forth results. God’s Word accomplishes what He pleases. It prospers in the thing for which He sent it. [6]
Thank You God for Your Word!
In the Lord I have joy and peace, singing and clapping.
“For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” [7]
He removes that which tears and hurts, and gives that which delights…
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree...” [8]
“Thank You Heavenly Father that daily You minister to and bless whoever will come to You.”
[1] Isaiah 55:1
[2] Isaiah 55:2
[3] Isaiah 55:3
[4] Isaiah 55:6-7
[5] Isaiah 55:8-9
[6] Isaiah 55:10-11
[7] Isaiah 55:12
[8] Isaiah 55:13
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